The Marauders
by Gooey Gooey Coca Beans
Summary: *Chapter 4!* A Lily/James fic. Lily has been invisible for the past six years at Hogwarts, her only friend being Arabella Figg. Finally, in her 7th year, she decides that things are going to change. She decides to join the band,
1. Chapter 1: Summer

The Marauders – Summer

It was the last day of sixth year, and Lily Evans was depressed.

"Ara, I've been going to this school for six years and I can bet you that only you and the teachers can say my name without having to wrack their brains over it!"

Arabella Figg sighed. "Lils, sweetie, don't be so hard on yourself. Look at all you've done. You're Prefect, you're in all advanced classes-"

"Yes, all that I've done that is worth noting all has to do with grades or classes. I'm sick of it Ara! Is it so bad that I want to be noticed? That I want people to notice me for something other than the chick with the red hair whose always reading? Don't give me that look, I've heard people talk. Contrary to popular belief I _can_ hear!"

"Well, if you're so determined to do something with yourself then go ahead and do it! You have next year, have fun! Blow classes off. Your GPA is high enough that you could fail all of your classes and still graduate head of class. Next year is your year to have fun."

Lily smiled brightly. "Yeah… I'll have fun next year. I'll show all those people who Lily Evans really is!" She paused and looked at herself in the mirror. "But… What if after all this time I find out that nobody'll even like me?"

"Honey… I like you!" Lily shot her a look. "If you're worried about the guys, don't. You're absolutely gorgeous!" She turned Lily's face so she was staring at herself in the mirror. "How could a guy not be able to resist you?"

"They've avoided me for six years pretty well." She sighed sadly.

"Well they're asses for it!"

Lily looked at herself. She had to admit, she didn't look grotesquely ugly by any means, but she wasn't pretty either. Her skin was covered in freckles and her blood red hair was too long. Her nails were always dirty and she bit them so they were short. She never wore makeup, so none of her good features were accented. Her clothing didn't do anything for her either.

"Tell you what, Lils. Once we get to my house, we'll ask my Mum to take us shopping. You know she'll do it. You're like the second daughter… Only… Not…"

Lily had to laugh at this. Ever since her parents were killed in her fourth year she had spent the Holidays and summer break at the Figgs'. It was like they had adopted her into their family, and she was grateful.

"What're you trying to do to me, Ara? Turn me prep?"

"Hell no! Preps are scum and must be blown from the earth! We're just going to make you… Noticeable. I promise, if you don't like it, you'll can do whatever you want, no interference from me. Deal?" She held out her hand.

"Deal." She shook it.

&%&%&%

"Mom!" Ara ran up to her mom and hugged her. "I'm so happy to see you again." She broke away from her mother and Lily took her place.

"You make it seem like you only see me once every ten years." Catalina – Cat – Figg smiled.

"Where's Dad?"

"Paul had to work late, but he should be home about the time we arrive home. We're planning on going out to dinner to that nice Japanese place you two like so much."

"You spoil us too much, Mrs. Figg."

"Lily, how many times have I told you? Call me Cat. 'Mrs. Figg' makes me sound old and hunched over."

"Sorry." Lily smiled.

Lily and Ara put their trunks and empty owl cages into the back of the truck. Luckily, their owls were still at Hogwarts and were going to be coming home in the next day or two. They climbed into the backseat of Cat's big red truck. It had a crew cab, so they weren't squished.

The way back to their house was full of questions about their year and Ara asking her mom if they could go to London in the next day or two for a big shopping spree. Cat agreed, but only if she could be a part of it too. Lily had laughed and promised that she could come with them.

Ara's house was a lovely Victorian house – Romanesque Revival style. It was made completely out of stone and had heavy arches on the porches, doors, and window. It looked like it was built into a hill, if you looked at it from the road. But around the back, was one giant porch that overlooked a river. When Ara a Lily were younger they used to swim in the calm banks of it, when they were older they used to hike up and then go rafting. Now they were hooked on tubing down the river, and just seeing where they would end up. The inside of the house was full of new and antique furniture that just merged together to form the home they lived in. It was a beautiful place to live.

Just a few minutes after bringing their trunks upstairs and using some magic to put their stuff away – for some reason, Hogwarts never bothered them about it, as long as it wasn't something major – Cat yelled up the stairs that Paul had gotten home and that they should get dressed for dinner.

&%&%&%

The following Saturday Cat, Ara, and Lily all went out to London. Paul had steadfastly refused to go, saying that he'd probably be forced to test a shade of rouge or lipstick before the day was over.

The first place they went was a beauty parlor.

The woman that had Lily was very nice and motherly. Her name was Erin.

"My, my. You have beautiful hair."

"Really? I always thought it was rather limp. And long. Much too long."

"Well, we can fix that. What would like done to it?"

"I… I don't really know. Just something different, I guess."

Erin smiled, "Do you trust me?"

"Yeah, I do. Do whatever you like to it. Just make it look good."

Erin led Lily over to the sink to wash her hair. Lily relaxed to the feeling of her scalp being softly mashed by Erin's finger's and the soft sent of vanilla that the shampoo and conditioner gave off.

She was then brought over to the cutting station where Erin gently combed Lily's hair out. She studied Lily for a few moments. "What's the shortest you'll let me take it?"

"Well… To my chin at the absolute shortest… But I really want it long enough to do stuff with… Like, braid it and stuff." She looked into Erin's eyes through the mirror to see if she understood.

"OK, I've got an idea for what I want." She picked her scissors up and when she turned around she noticed Lily had her eyes closed. She laughed slightly. "You can open your eyes you know."

Lily opened them for a few moments. "I know, but I want to be surprised when I see myself."

So, Erin started cutting away at Lily's hair. Lily was a little surprised at how her head felt lighter and wondered exactly how much Erin was taking off. But she resisted the temptation to open her eyes and spoil the surprise. Erin and Lily talked softly about nothing in particular. But Lily was happy for the conversation. She felt her chair swing around – away from the mirror, according to the map her mind had laid out – and Erin told her to open her eyes.

She did and was happy to see Erin smiling in approval. "Do you mind if I blow dry it?"

"No, go ahead." She felt her hair hitting the back of her neck and figured that it just reached her shoulders.

Erin switched off the dryer and looked at Lily again. "I heard you talking to your two friends that you were getting makeovers too. May I?"

Lily shrugged, she had come this far, and Erin seemed trustworthy. She had good taste as far as Lily was concerned. "Sure."

Erin went about her little area grabbing some make up and other necessities. "Hmmm… Something natural, but brings out your features… Your eyes especially…"

Lily smiled at this. She had gotten her mother's startling green eyes and thought they were her best feature.

She had to remain expressionless as Erin gently tweezed her eyebrows and apply a pale foundation to her face. She didn't know exactly what was going on, as how she still hadn't seen a mirror in at least an hour and she could only hear the occasional murmur of Erin deciding which color would go best on her.

After what felt like another half hour, she was spun around and instructed to open her eyes. Lily was stunned at the woman looking back at her.

He once waist-length hair was now at her shoulders and was layered to give it a jagged appearance. The makeup on her face made the freckles blend in nicely and brought out the milky white complexion of her skin. Her emerald eyes were decorated with a soft bronze eye shadow and had a sparse amount of eye liner and mascara. Her eyebrows were plucked to a fine arch and didn't need to be penciled. A very light rouge was on her cheek bones, making her face look more mature and oval shaped. And her lips had some clear lip gloss on them, just enough to bring them the attention they deserved.

"I know it's a bit shorter than you were probably expecting-"

"No!" Her objection was louder than she meant. "No, Erin. This is… This is wonderful! I've never looked so good before. My hair actually has body to it!" She laughed lightly. "Thank you so much!" She got up and hugged the woman lightly.

"Well, I'm glad you like it."

"May I have some of the products you used please?"

"Of course!" Erin went about collecting shampoo, conditioner and makeup. She handed a small pile to Lily. "The eye shadow bit I got you had a bunch of different shades so you can fit your mood."

Lily walked out of Erin's room, receiving last minute instructions on how to style her hair or put on makeup she heard–

"LILY! Oh my God! You look wonderful! Your hair! Your makeup! Your eyes! Oh my God!" Strangely enough, this was Mrs. Figg. Ara was still sitting there, not believing that the beautiful person standing before her was her best friend of six years. Lily just grinned.

Ara and Cat had also gotten the beauty treatment.

Ara's raven black hair now had red highlights and was cut to chin length. It was teased out to give it a beach-hair look. Her tan skin looked golden with the soft sparkle lotion she had rubbed into her skin. Her eyes had soft yellow eye shadow that brought out her amber eyes beautifully. Her eyeliner was a deep red, to match the highlights in her hair, and had blue mascara on. And her naturally arched eyebrows were penciled in a dark brown. Somehow, she made the strange color scheme work. Her cheeks had a slight blush to them and her lips had a beautiful tanned red color on them.

Cat's makeover was a bit more refined, her excuse being she had a job and she intended on keeping it. Her blond hair was in between her shoulders and chin and her bangs were just short enough that she couldn't tuck them behind her ears. She had baby blue eye shadow, to mirror her eyes, and soft brown eye liner on. Her eye brows were plucked to an arch and were accented with a light brown. Her cheeks were a healthy pink, like she had stepped into a cold wind, and her lips were a natural pink color.

All three of them had makeup and hair supplies in their arms. After paying for their supplies – Cat insisted on paying for everything – and thanking Erin one last time, they left the hair/beauty salon.

"Next up," Said Ara, "Are nails!" They walked down the road a bit to a nail salon and they all got French manicures. Lily was so happy that her nails finally looked clean and long. It almost made her hands themselves look more elegant.

As the three broke for lunch they all talked about what clothing stores to hit and what the spending limit was. Cat had exclaimed, "Spending limit! There isn't a spending limit! How will we get anything good with a spending limit?" The three had laughed at that and went to horde some innocent clothing store.

Lily and Ara both got plenty of comfortable yet flattering clothes and they each got several pairs of shoes. Cat had gotten some work clothes, but had also gotten some to wear around the house or on weekends.

Lily and Ara also got some books and CDs with their own money, not wanting to take advantage of Cat's kindness. 

When Ara and Cat were both not paying attention, Lily bought Cat a silver necklace with a dragon pendant on it and Paul a batch of cookies. He generally didn't get to have sweets because both Cat and Ara were diabetics, so she thought this would be a good treat for him.

The summer mainly consisted of London visits, girl talks, movie watching, and walks around town trying to spot how many guys looked their way. Their highest count was 25 combined looks, but they were sure they didn't catch all of them.

&%&%&%

The day before Ara and Lily were due back at Hogwarts, they were up all night talking.

"I'm so happy you're Head Girl, Lils, and with James Potter as Head Boy! You're going to have a fun year."

"It sucks that I have to move out of the dorm though… How will we have late night gal sessions?"

"You can sneak over!"

Lily grinned, "Yeah, good point."

"Just remember, Lils. Don't fall back into your old routine. Let people know who you are this year. Act like you always have around me. Joking around, smiling, completely insane…" They both laughed, "And you'll be fine. Just remember, I was your best friend for six years, don't go forgetting me."

"Arabella Figg!" Lily looked honestly shocked and appalled. "How dare you accuse me of forgetting you! You're the one that saw me when I was invisible, you'll always be my best friend. You're going to be my Maid of Honor and my wedding. There's no way in Hell that I'll ever forget you."

Ara smiled and hugged her friend. "Good to hear."

It was about 5:00 AM and they figured they might as well take showers and get dressed. Lily did first, and then went down to make everybody breakfast.

"I can't believe this'll be the last time I do this until Christmas break." Said Lily sadly.

Paul and Cat hugged her, "Don't worry, you'll see us sooner than you think."

They couple drove the girls to the train station and, since they were Muggles, they said their good byes at the barrier.

"Take care of your selves." Cat hugged them both to the point where they thought their ribs would crack.

"And don't break too many hearts." Paul winked at them and hugged them, giving them a peck on the forehead.

As the two girls looked at the barrier, they both took a deep breath.

"Ready to show them who you really are, Lils?"

Lily responded by walking thought the barrier, head held high.


	2. Chapter 2: Hogwarts Gazette

The Marauders – The Prank

_Hogwarts Gazette – Friday, September 1_ _Marauders Tryouts_

_The Marauders, Hogwarts number one band, have lost a very dear part of their group this year. Danielle Richmond, head singer, graduated last year._

_"We won't let our fans down" Says head guitarist, James Potter. "Dan's shoes are going to be hard to fill, but we're going to try."_

_"Yeah, loosing her has been devastating, but we will prevail!" Remarks Sirius Black, drummer._

_"But, since we can't have a proper band without a nice set of vocals, we will be holding tryouts." Promises Remus Lupin, pianist. "You must sign up for tryouts. There will be a sheet on the Great Hall bulletin board from Saturday, September 2 to Friday, September 8."_

_Once all the slots are full, they'll have to take the sheet down, so sign up soon. Tryouts themselves will be held on September 9th and 10th. They request that only serious musicians sign up because of the intensity of the practices. Weekday practices are from 8:00 to 10:00 and weekend practices are from 1:00 to 5:00. Also, extra-hours will be put in with writing and possibly practicing. Requirements for tryouts are one song that has been preformed by an artist and one that you have written."_

_The Marauders wishes everybody who tries out good luck and will see you on the 9th and 10th._

_Wishing you good luck, and good reading, I'm Rita Skeeter._

&%&%&%

Enter: James, Sirius and Remus.

James was the guitarist of the band, he also sang. He had raven black hair that never stayed down on his head, and the way is flopped over his forehead and into his eyes made the girls want to brush it out of the way. He had beautiful, chocolate colored eyes and he occasionally wore a pare of black wire frame glasses, other times he used contacts. He stood a little over six feet and he had muscles on him that filled his frame out nicely, no doubt caused by five years of Quidditch. He was famous for wearing shirts with clever saying on them, and his pants were always baggy, but not fall-off-your-butt baggy.

Sirius Black was the drummer in their group. He had long brown hair that fell just below his shoulder blades, and he was striving to grow a beard – without much success. His eyes were stormy gray, and they always had a twinkle in them from his smile. He loved to smile and play pranks. It was like his mission in life to make certain people laugh out loud and other people want to wipe the smile off his face. He was a towering six foot six and loved to lift weights. He didn't look freakishly muscular, but he had a _nice_ set of abs. He was one of those people where you either felt very safe with him around, for very threatened. He could always be found wearing a Muggle sports jersey or some strange shirt that you figured he had to have made himself. 

Remus Lupin was the shy pianist. His sandy colored hair was wonderfully soft, causing girls to constantly play with it. He was just a bit shorter than James and wasn't as muscular either. Normally, his eyes were a deep brown color, but if you caught them in just the right angle with just the right amount of light, they turned to a golden amber. He was the sweetest of the three and was the first to stand up for his friends. His clothing was relatively normal, sometimes a funny saying popping up, but he tended to stick to earth tones, generally brown and green.

&%&%&%

It was the night of the second, and they already had to take the list down. All 400 slots had been filled, and now the boys had to go through the hassle of putting the names in order.

"Why, in the name of all that is chocolate, did we decide on _400_ slots?"

James pointed at Remus.

"Hey! You guys okayed it!"

James looked up, "That was before we thought all of them would be filled within 24 hours."

Remus snatched the list away from Sirius, "I've heard some of these people sing… And they royally suck."

Sirius sighed and sunk into his chair, "How are we going to sort the names? Draw them randomly out of a hat?" His two friends actually considered it.

"Why don't we take all the ones we know can't sing and put them in first, then all the others and be drawn out of a hat?" Remus suggested.

"Sounds good."

"OK."

They each got a highlighter and a section of the list and started putting X's by everybody who couldn't sing and dots by people who were OK then they'd rotate their section of the list. After all that was done, they took all the X's and dots and but them in a "Day 1" list. It came out a little less than 200 people. Then they just randomly picked people for the second half of their list.

Just as they all leaned back into their chairs, James rubbing his hand because he was the one writing all the names, they jumped at the sound of a banging portrait and insane laughter of two girls.

"Did you see _Tinker_? No wonder she's not a punk! I mean, a nose ring. A _nose ring_!"

The three boys looked at each other strangely. Who were these girls and _what_ were they talking about?

The girls came into view and Sirius got their attention. "Hey! What're you two going on about?"

A lovely redhead came up and leaned over the table and glanced at their lists. "Well, while you three were working on your lists, you missed out on the _biggest_ prank ever pulled in Hogwarts." She gave them a sly smile and sat in front of the fire, causing her hair to glow.

"Wait… Prank?" Sirius looked at his friends, "Did you two pull a prank without me?"

"Not you, stupid." The other girl, a raven haired girl with a strange sense of fashion came to sit next to her friend. "Us. We pulled the _greatest_ prank ever."

Remus leaned forward. "How many?"

The red head smirked, "Everyone."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone except the five sitting in this room."

"Teachers?"

"I said _everyone_, didn't I?" She looked at Sirius and James, "Is your friend slow or something?"

"Hey!" He looked indignant.

"So," James leaned forward, "what'd you do?"

The girls smirked and told them to wait.

As if on cue, Dumbledore's voice boomed across the entire castle. _"Everyone please report to the Great Hall. There is no need to panic. Repeat, please report to the Great Hall."_

The girls grinned and led them to the portrait. The raven haired girl pushed it open to reveal…

Mirrors.

Thousands upon thousands of mirrors, the five of them reflecting as far as the eye could see.

Sirius scoffed, "This is the greatest prank ever? A bunch a mirrors?"

"No," The willowy raven haired girl grinned as they walked to the Great Hall, seemingly unfazed by the dizziness the mirrors caused, "The mirrors were just the shockers."

The boys raised a puzzled eyebrow at each other. At the doors to the Hall, the red head stopped them and pivoted on her heel to look at the three boys with a threatening gaze. "I have to play innocent. _Play. Along._"

The double doors swung open at her touch and they entered the Hall, which was buzzing with complaints and whines. When people noticed them, they all looked accusingly at the boys, and the three of them couldn't contain their laughter. 

All the preps were wearing Goth or punk clothes. Goths and punks were in bright, happy colors and were talking like preps. Slytherins were happy looking and smiling, some wearing Gryffindor colors. Snape had washed hair that was brushed back neatly and actually looked _handsome_. Bookworms and geeks looked and acted like airhead blonds. Even the teachers hadn't escaped it! Dumbledore looked dark and sinister, but his bright blue eyes were smiling. McGonagall was in a beautiful ball gown, her chocolate hair down and in waves and she actually had makeup on. She actually looked pretty. Hagrid, like Dumbledore, looked sinister and evil. Basically, everybody looked the complete opposite of how they normally looked or acted.

"Could you five please come up to the teacher's table?" Dumbledore's voice was cold and hard contrasting greatly to his smiling eyes.

The five of them got up there, small smiles on their faces, with the read head in the lead.

"Yes, professor?" Her voice was high and innocent sounding. Much unlike the voice they had heard in the Common Room. "By the way… What's with everyone's choice of attire?"

Cain, the nasty Potions teacher, gave them a suspicious look. Well, as suspicious as one could give with a giant smile pasted to his face. "It seems _someone_," he 'glared' at the three boys, "thought it would be _funny_ to pull a prank."

"Ohhh, so that's what's up with everyone." She looked around the Hall quickly.

Dumbledore leaned his elbows on the table, "And it seems, you five haven't been effected. Care to enlighten us, Ms Evans?"

Her pretty forehead crinkled in confusion. "Well, I don't know professor. Ara and I," she gestured to the raven haired girl, "were up in the Common Room studying for Transfiguration," James was amused McGonagall bought the obvious brownie-points, "when we heard your announcement, Head Master. We came as soon as we heard."

Ara nodded her head, "Lily's right, Professors."

_Lies!_ The boys thought, _All lies!_

McGonagall looked at the boys accusingly, "So that leaves _you_ three. What's _your_ excuse?"

Before any of the boys could say anything, Lily continued. "For once, Professor McGonagall, they didn't do it." At her skeptical look she continued, "I swear on my wand they didn't do it! They were working on some sort of list. Something about a band they want to start."

The boys smiled, she was _good_.

"Well than," Dumbledore scanned the Hall, "who did it?"

"My guess would be that somebody pulled the prank on everyone, including themselves so they wouldn't get caught." She did a very convincing job of making it sound like she had just come up with the thought. 

"Very well. Before you leave, though, would you have an estimate as to how long this spell will last?" Dumbledore had a small smile and a look in his eye, causing the boys to think that he knew the girls had pulled the prank.

Lily turned around slowly, taking in the scene, then faced the headmaster again. "It was probably a potion, seeing how widespread the result is. And for it to be able to change clothing, it must have been very powerful. So I would say… Forty eight hours. And the mirrors were probably a very strong charm spell, but will wear off within the hour." She couldn't help a small smile creep to her lips.

Dumbledore smiled, "Very well." He raised his voice again, addressing the school, "The potion should wear off by the end of the weekend. Please don't let the change in attire disrupt you from your daily activities. Be careful when walking through the halls, the mirrors may cause dizziness."

The girls turned and walked out of the Great Hall, and the boys followed quickly behind.

"That was brilliant!" Sirius' eyes were twinkling, and then he turned to his friends accusingly. "If we hadn't had to go through 400 names, we could've pulled a prank today too!"

Remus waved his hand in a dismissing manner, "So, what're your names? Are you new? I think we would've noticed you two before today."

The redhead's smile disappeared at his comment, but the other girl started talking before anyone could notice.

"I'm Arabella, Ara for short. And this is-"

"Dumbledore said my name, if they weren't listening, that's their fault." The four others looked at her strangely. She had gone from lighthearted to pissed off in mere seconds.

"Well, if you won't tell us your name, we'll have to come up with one." Threatened Sirius.

Lily seemed to perk up at this. "Do your worst, smart ass."

"OK." Sirius made a slow circle around her, "Red."

Lily smirked, "How ingenious." With that, she sauntered off to the common room, Ara close behind.


	3. Chapter 3: Preparation

The Marauders – Preparation

"So, Lily, when did you sign up?" Lily and Ara were eating at the Griffindor table, which was strangely empty. Most of the students were too embarrassed to show their faces, and those who did were joking around or trying to figure out who pulled the prank. "How'd you get to it before the banshees?" She smirked, remembering that morning, the female population were all fighting each other to get to the list first.

"I snuck down around midnight."

"And to think, you're the one setting examples for the younger students. I wonder if the Headmaster is aware of this…"

"I'd bet does… he knows _everything_ that goes on around here. Its freaky."

"Yeah, I bet he even knows when the girls are on their periods. Oh my God! Can't you just see him digging through the bathroom trash cans looking for tampons!?"

Lily spit pumpkin juice all over Ara.

"Lillian Marie Evans!"

Lily didn't even flinch at the use of her full name. The mere picture of Dumbledore digging through their trash was imprinted into her mind, and she couldn't help but laugh hysterically.

"Well golly, Red, drink much?"

Lily turned around to face Sirius with a giant grin on her face. "Yeah, I do! But it looks like I could still use some practice!"

Sirius smiled at her and shook his head. "See ya' around Red."

Ara seemed to have forgotten that she was covered in spit and juice because she was grinning madly at her best friend. "You're already changing! Last-Year-Lily would have blushed like a tomato!"

Lily just smiled softly to herself. Suddenly, her eyes got real big and she gasped. "Ara! I have to pick out a song to sing _and_ write one by Friday evening!"

The two girls finished eating quickly and ran back to the Common Room.

%&%&%&%

At noon the next day, Lily and Ara found themselves in a nearly abandoned Common Room, sitting in front of the fire, trying to come up with lyrics.

"We're getting nowhere and fast!" Lily flopped down on the couch and sighed.

"Well, what do you want to sing about? Who cares if it fits their style of music or not, they just want to hear your voice and how you use it."

"I want to sing about… Taking chances… Becoming somebody better… I guess I want to sing about what's going on in my life right now." She moved her head to look at Ara. "Where's Ol' Faithful?"

Ara smiled, "I'll get him."

Lily sat on the arm of the couch, quill hovering over parchment… Just waiting for something to come to her. She looked up and smiled when Ara came bounding down the stairs carrying Ol' Faithful. Her guitar. It was a simple acoustic guitar, not a fancy electric one or anything, but she loved it all the same. It's case was all beat up from years of use. Lily was sure that the only thing holding it together were the duct tape and safety pins covering it. Lily carefully un hinged the case and took her guitar out. She checked to see if it was tuned.

"OK, baby, I'm going to need you to help me out here." She started strumming chords on it, not really playing anything in particular, but searching her mind for something new to create.

Ara loved watching Lily like this. You could tell this is what she loved doing. Her eyes were closed, and her face had a dreamy look on it. Since it was the weekend, they were in Muggle clothing – simple jeans and tank tops – but something about the way Lily looked. Just sitting on the arm of the couch… It made her look surreal. Ara had known that Lily would go into her trance-like state so she had brought her Muggle camera, loaded with black and white film. Her father had a darkroom at home and every Christmas and Summer break Ara would spend days, sometimes weeks on end, just trying to get one picture to come out beautifully. Ara had always wanted to be an artist of some kind. She angled herself, so she was looking up at Lily and took a picture. She knew Lily heard the shutter click when a soft smile danced on her lips, but she made no objection, so Ara just kept taking pictures of her friend.

Lily's strumming gradually became more violent, when it suddenly stopped. She opened her eyes and quickly hunched over her parchment and wrote some words before going back to playing the guitar, humming or singing a word or two every few minutes.

Ara smiled and finished taking her roll of film.

&%&%&%&

It was Thursday and Lily was freaking out. "I still don't know what song I want to sing!"

Ara was confused, "I thought you wrote it last Saturday…"

"Ara!"

"What?"

"The song that I have to pick! The one that I _didn't_ write!"

Ara's eyes got big. "Ohhhh… _That_ one… Well, lets go listen to some of my CD's."

Lily practically dragged Ara into her dorm. "Show me your CD's."

Ara took a CD player she had charmed and her collection of CD's. "Why don't you just look through them? I've got Potion's homework that I _have_ to finish or Cain will have my head."

"Uh huh, whatever." Lily already had the headphones on and was listening to some songs.

&%&%&%&

It was Saturday morning. The 9th. The two best friends were sitting in the Great Hall, eating breakfast. Well, Ara was eating breakfast. Lily felt ready to blow chunks.

"What if they laugh in my face?"

"Then I'll hurt them. At least have some milk and toast, sweetie."

Lily finally relented and then picked up Ol' Faithful and headed for the try out room. She paused in front of the door, dreading what would happen to her if they laughed in her face.

_If they laugh in my face… I'll take off house points… Even if it is from my own house._

Then, with itchy fingers, Lily opened the door to her new life.


	4. Chapter 4: Try Outs

The Marauders – Try Outs

_Tomorrow! I'm freaking out and I have until tomorrow! Might as well stick around and see what the competition is like._

Obviously some of the other girls didn't follow Lily's train of thought and left.

She was a little frightened that somebody had picked the same song she did, but she hadn't come across any so far. Some of the girls sang unaccompanied, others brought an instrument of their own to play, like Lily. Many cast flirtatious winks and giggles at the Marauders. 

Lily shook her head, wondering just how great her chances were at becoming a singer for their group. She certainly wouldn't get in wearing what she was now… A simple black dress with almost no decorations except for a silver chain bracelet her parents had given her the year before they died. She needed to be a bit more eccentric, but still retaining her own image. Her eyes skimmed across the girls trying out, most of them were preps and came in wearing their pink and baby blue shirts and hip hugger jeans. She wondered for a fleeting moment if the Marauders were purebloods or muggleborn.

"That was… Very nice." Lily had to bite her lip from laughing as James tried to not insult the girl that had just finished singing. "Now for the rest of you lovely ladies, you'll just have to come back tomorrow. Be here at eight." And with that he went to cleaning up the room.

Lily practically sprinted out of the room and ran up to the Head dormitories. She wondered why she never saw James, but she figured this past week had been busy for all of them and she would have plenty of time to get to know him, whether she got into the band or not. She threw open her closet door and yanked open a few drawers, trying to find something better for tomorrow. She smiled at her selection, and decided to go to bed. She had a very busy day ahead of her.

&%&%&%&

"Lillian Evans!"

She sat up with a start, not knowing what was going on.

"It is Sunday! You have to take a shower, get dressed and eat breakfast and then go to try outs!"

"Jeez, Ara. Scare the living crap out of your best friend why don't you? And how the hell did you get into the Head Girl bedroom? I never gave you the password!"

"Oh, that… Well… Gotta run!"

"You better run, Figg!"

Nonetheless Lily got up and took a nice hot shower to wake up to. As she wiped off the steam off the vanity mirror she hear a knock at the entrance to James' bedroom. "Hello? Tell me when you get out, I need to use the shower."

Lily smiled, "I'll be out in a sec." She grabbed her hair supplies and yelled, "Its all yours" as she shut her door.

She took her towel off and put some black cotton panties and a matching bra on and then decided to do her hair. She twisted the different layers into sections and, with magic, held them there in strange corkscrew designs. She then slipped on some hunter green pants that had a giant rip on one leg and were three sizes too big. She put a camouflage belt on so she wouldn't fall out of them while singing. _That_ would be a nightmare. She then put on a black shirt that hugged to her chest but had cuts in it, like a lion had clawed at it, on the stomach and back. One of the sleeves was slightly torn off and you could see her bra though it, but she didn't mind. Her makeup was a little darker than usual, but not gothic. She made sure her eyes were highly accented with her eye liner though. She was about to walk out the door when she remembered that she needed her shoes and dear Ol' Faithful. She pulled on some old beat up black shoes that had lost their shoe strings long ago. The only thing keeping them from flying off her feet was duct tape. She grabbed her guitar and headed out the door, towards the Great Hall.

"Sorry Ara, can't talk, got to run. Try outs start in-" She glanced at her watch and almost choked on her toast "Five minute! Tell you later how it goes."

Ara was smiling at the nervousness of her best friend, "Hey Lils! You look great!"

"Thanks, Ara!" She yelled from the doors.

&%&%&%&

Lily ran into the try out room, breathless. She was about ten minutes late, but nobody seemed to care. She was listening to a girl sing a very good version of "Goodbye Earl" when she started worrying about how good today's batch was. Yesterday's were horrible, but today they seemed a bit better. This worried Lily to no end.

"Evans, Lily?" Lily looked up to see Sirius reading her name.

She stood up slowly, not shy but nervous.

Sirius broke out in a grin. "Red!"

Lily smirked, still making her way up to the stage, "Black!"

Remus let a laugh out at this.

She was now on the stage, taking Ol' Faithful out and tuned him. So as to take the pressure off, she read James' shirt – How can I miss you, if you won't go away? – and smiled. "Nice shirt."

James raised an eyebrow. This must have been the first time in two days he had seen somebody so calm on stage. "Ditto."

Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, remembering how very clearly everyone could see her bra.

"You don't mind that I use my guitar, do you?" She addressed all of them.

"Nope, whatever makes you feel more comfortable." Responded Remus. "First, can you tell us what the song is that you picked out and who it is sung by?"

"It's called 'I Hope You Dance' and its sung by Lee Ann Womack"

Remus raised an eyebrow, and nodded his head, signaling her to start.

Confidently, she started to strum the tune on Ol' Faithful.

"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat

But always keep that hunger

May you never take one single breath for granted

God forbid love ever leave you empty handed"

The four boys looked at her in awe. They had never seen a person so entranced in their music.

"I hope you still feel small, when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith the fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance"

Her voice was strong and powerful but didn't overwhelm. It was almost angelic.

"I hope you dance....

I hope you dance...."

James leaned over to Sirius and whispered, "Nice set of lungs."

Sirius shushed him.

"I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Livin' might mean takin' chances, but they're worth takin'

Lovin' might be a mistake, but it's worth makin'"

Lily forgot she was in front of people. Her soul was being shown to the world, but she didn't care. As long as she was happy, she didn't care.

"Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter

When you come close to selling out, reconsider

Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance"

Sirius smiled at the girl on stage. She was like hope. Telling them not to give up. She wasn't the best singer in the world, and he realized this, but the way she just… Opened up… It was rare.

"I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance"

Lily had to make up for the missing chorus by playing some extra chords on Ol' Faithful. Her fingers flew over the strings, a mind of their own.

"I hope you still feel small, when you stand beside the ocean

Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens

Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance"

James was shocked when he met Lily's eyes. There was nothing but happiness and peace in her eyes. He was captivated by her eyes. Why hadn't he ever seen her before? How could she be Head Girl and him not notice her for even this week? It seemed impossible.

"Dance...

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance

I hope you dance"

She let the last note linger, but muted it before it could become strained. She raised her head, looked into the boys' eyes, and smiled. "Was that good?"

The boys all gawked at her. _Good?_

Remus held her eyes, "That was wonderful." She blushed lightly. "Now I don't know about these lumps," he pointed to his friends, "But I can't wait to hear the one you wrote."

"Well… I hope you like it. Ara helped, so I can't have all the credit. It's called 'Skateboarder Scars'."

She took a deep breath and started to play a violent tune, contrasting to the gentleness of her first song.

"The foolish speak lots, and I've got lots to say 

The babble goes on, it could last all day

Cause I'm just a girl with a simple guitar

Got nonsense in my brain, and skateboarder scars"

Her fingers flew as a few more violent cords were played. She wasn't dancing, but her entire body was moving in time to the music.

"What can you do when you feel so empty?

Can you close your eyes and feign it gone?

Can you live with a hole deep in your soul?

Can you find it all in this simple song?

"Looking at the stars yesterday, and I thought of you

Of the things you made, and the things you do

Thinking there was more to see than guitars and baggy jeans

Thinking life was more than all of what it seems"

Her voice was even harsh as she sang, and it showed the emotion of the song.

"What can you do when you feel so empty?

Can you close your eyes and feign it gone?

Can you live with a hole deep in your soul?

Can you find it all in this simple song?"

Remus was amazed at how the song just made him want to comfort her. The words, the way she sang and played them… It all merged together to make her seem surreal.

"Thinking there was more to see than guitars and baggy jeans

Thinking life was more than all of what it seems

"What can you do when you feel so empty?

Can you close your eyes and feign it gone?

Can you live with a hole deep in your soul?

Can you find it all in this simple song?"

The cords continues for a few more beats, even though she had finished singing, and then she muted it quickly. She looked up with an almost apologetic look in her eyes. "I know it was short-"

"Don't apologize." Practically everybody looked at James. "It was good, especially when you only had a week to write it."

She smiled softly, "Thanks." There was a silence, but it wasn't really uncomfortable. "Well, I better pack up and get out of your way."

As she was putting her beloved guitar back the three boys looked at each other. They had found their new vocalist. To their great disappointment, they had to listed to the rest of the singers of the day before they could officially post the results.

They watched as the fiery haired girl walked her way to the door slowly. As they heard the door close softly behind her, they could hear her start to run down the hall.

Remus smiled and leaned in to talk to his friends softly, "Probably running off to tell her friends of how she thinks she did." The other two smiled, he was probably right.

A/N: So, how'd you like it? "Skateboarder Scars" was written by my dear friend Jenn, so I take absolutely no credit for it whatsoever. If you would like to be E-Mailed when I update, please tell me in a review and I'll be sure to add you to my list. Please be sure to review, I read every single one of them, and really inspire me to write more.


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